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I SECRETLY ADMIRE.....

to Read
(

Words)

Greetings Holiday Weekend Blog Hoppers!

I know that you are anxious for me to reveal the identity of the blogger I admire, but please indulge me just a little bit longer while I share a story that explains the reason I chose this particular person to rave about!

Just a few weeks ago, I'd written in either a FIVE FOR FRIDAY or CURRENTLY link-up post about my continued self-doubt about the worthiness of my TpT products and blog posts. It was one of those days where both undertakings seemed overwhelming on top of my everyday school and family life, and I was wondering if I was up to or worthy of the challenge. Later that day, I received a notice that Jayne Gammons from Smart Kids had left this comment:

KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!

Thosefive simple and straightforward words meant so much to me--especially with the "avalanche" of the end-of-the-school-year" responsibilities and activities weighing heavy upon me at that particular point. They lifted me up and continue to carry me through as I head into my last nine days!

Two other words that she ends every post with also inspire me daily. Her reminder to...

WORK SMART!

...is one that I have taken to heart in the past five years of teaching, incorporating quality instead of quantity in my lessons and continuing to incorporate themes into my units that interest and engage my students while meeting my grade level standards.

In my grand design of this post, I had hoped to introduce Jayne's Thinking About Bugs Smart Charts and Writing Frames in my classroom this week to help my students use non-fiction text to read, research, and write about different types of insects. Unfortunately, L-I-F-E got in the way and an out-of-town wedding, handling details for my school's author visit, and completing student reading assessments sucked the time and energy right out of me. I hope that Jayne will understand this, accept my apology for a belated product review, know that I applaud all that she shares on her idea-rich site, chuckle at the meme below which sums up how I look and feel at the moment, and acknowledge my promise of a future stellar post!

Next week I plan to "buzz" right into the Jayne's insect writing activities, and can't wait to provide small groups of entomologists (we love BIG, scientific vocabulary words) with the variety of circle, brace, tree, and compare/contrast charts provided in this resource! All of Jayne's units include them, and allow students in grades K, 1, and 2 a wonderful choice in the way they gather and organize their facts about the given topic. Be sure to visit her TpT store and check out the variety of products in her collection! She even has a SmartBoard file that can be used with this unit!

While you are waiting to see how my class "bugs out" over her amazing writing resource, be absolutely sure that you check out her recent post about her end-of-the-year See You Later, Alligator writing activities, projects, songs, and videos! A link to Jayne's positively perfect Pinterest board is also included, and you will most certainly find a craft or gift that is easy-to- make and sure to please your students, parent volunteers, and colleagues!

I found this poster on one of her Pinterest boards that I love, and will use it to make "goodbye gifts" for my second graders! They know that I love to rhyme, and so I plan to turn into a bright bookmark for them to use while they read over the summer and remember me!

I hope you've enjoyed my tribute to this blogger! Know that these clues do not even do justice to her talent, expertise, ideas, and dedication, but I hope you enjoyed trying to solve the mystery!

As always, thanks for taking the time to visit my blog! Continue to keep calm, teach on, hold a song in your heart, share your story, AND check out the rest of our SECRET ADMIRER revelations this weekend!

3 comments:

OH. MY. WORD. I am beyond touched and honored to see my surprise. I was just stalking along my fav blogs and there you are stalking me. Let's continue to stalk each other for a long time, ok?? Anyone that uses music in her classroom and works as hard as you do has to be awesome. Blessings to you as you pull through the end of the year!! Love, JayneSmart Kids